British troops to be deployed to Syria?

British troops to be deployed to Syria?

Speaking on Andrew Marr’s politics programme on Sunday morning on BBC1, General Sir David Richards, the Chief of General Staff, said that as Syria’s civil war continues, contingency plans for military intervention are being “continually brushed over”.

He emphasised the fact that any military involvement would be restricted and would also require the support of locals living in the war zone. This announcement was made at a time when the West is attempting to extricate itself from Afghanistan following 11 years of conflict.

The General said that the UK does not want to see an overspill of the Syrian civil war across the borders of Jordan, Lebanon and in particular Nato ally – Turkey.

General Sir David Richards said that the current humanitarian crisis in Syria would deepen with the onset of winter and that there would be increasing pressure on the army to intervene. He did emphasise that the approach would be a cautious one given that a great effort would be required on the part of British military forces.